High nicotine levels ensure successful smoking cessation even without the intention to quit

Introduction

An American study published in the journal Nicotine & Tobacco Research on 26/11/2021 has just confirmed the usefulness of vaping, with sufficient nicotine delivery, for smoking cessation, even for people who do not wish to stop smoking completely.

Conduct of the study

The study, led by Professor Foulds, took place over 24 weeks in Pennsylvania at Penn State Medical Center and in Virginia at the University of Richmond.   

The 520 participants were randomly divided into 4 groups in a double-blind way.  

  • A group of 130 people formed a placebo group with the use of a cigarette-shaped tube.
  • A group of 130 participants received an eGo electronic cigarette containing a nicotine-free e-liquid.
  • A third group used a nicotine level of 8mg/ml.
  • The last group was given an e-cigarette with an e-liquid of 36mg/ml.


The study did not set out to investigate potential smoking cessation in the participants, but only to calculate the number of cigarettes smoked in parallel with the device and the level of carbon monoxide exhaled, with check-ups during regular visits over the course of 24 weeks.  

After 6 months, the study results were surprising. In the group of 130 participants who received an e-liquid containing 36mg of nicotine, 10.8% of the participants in this group had spontaneously stopped smoking. This drops to 4.6% for the 8mg/ml group and 0.8% among the participants who received 0mg of nicotine.   

What can we learn from this study ?

An interesting and original study

If studies have already been conducted to determine the impact of vaping on smoking cessation in people wishing to stop smoking, the originality of this study lies in the fact of knowing the role of vaping in the cessation of smoking in people who have shown no intention of quitting smoking, but simply to reduce their consumption. In fact, the participants in this study were recruited based on adult smokers who only wanted to reduce their tobacco consumption thanks to the electronic cigarette, with no intention of stopping completely.

Long-term hope

The study was conducted over a short period of time (24 weeks) with smokers who had no intention of quitting, and despite this, the results are very encouraging. Extrapolating the results of this study on the long term, to smokers who want to quit smoking completely, could reveal a significant level of smoking cessation. Other studies have already demonstrated the effectiveness of e-cigarettes compared to other nicotine substitutes when trying to quit smoking. 

The higher the nicotine level the "vaping-smoker" receives, providing similar sensations to a traditional cigarette, the smoother and long-lasting the transition to e cigarettes will be. Once he exclusively vapes, he will be able to turn to flavours that are further and further away from tobacco.